Many people have opinions on getting started with heli's. Some say electric, some say gas, The small electrics seem to be fragile and costly on the upgrades, Batteries tend to be an issue and their small size seem to make them squirrelly. On the flip side of the coin you have the Nitro Heli's, they are bigger, much more stable and build for abuse. Fuel, Just get it at the hobby shop and fly all you want. I want to get started in heli's the right way and would like a Heli that is 100% ready to go with all those stupid upgrades. You would think those engineers would want to make a rock solid electric heli, All I have seen is little money making machines design to nickel and dime you to death. Whats your opinion and what is the right heli to start with???

My opinion is neither! Start with a good quality simulator and spend the time to figure out if helis are for you or not!

But nobody ever listens to that, they want a heli on the shelf to look at! I love both nitro and electric. I'd tell you to start with a nice used 30 size Nitro like a Raptor 30V2 or a nice electric like a T-Rex 450SE or a Swift. They all have a similar learning curve and are only limited by YOUR budget.

If you buy cheap and then really like helis then you would wish you bought better stuff.....if you spend more and 6 months later give up, you would wish you spent less....It is the same with every sport/hobby.

I would say that good 2nd hand is ok, BUT most times at least one component is not good. Like a worn motor or a crappy gyro.

Either of the helis will do. Get the one that is locally more popular. The std servos that come with radios are fine to start. The gyro/servo combo is really good and i wouldn't recomend ANY other option. A good gyro realy makes learning easier. The OS motor is also well proven and popular.

Some people might say my list is a little over the top for a starter setup. The thing is that moth of these helis will take you far, if you like the hobby. To make this a bit hotter, add a few better servos, a high performance muffler and a set of carbon blades.

If you do a price comparison with a 30 size heli and a cheaper gyro, you wont save much. The radio will be the same. People always say that you can upgrade the heli to a 50 later. I did it that way and it is not cost effective. I should have just sold my 30 and bought a 50....

If you would like to spend more money to start, I would recomend a better radio. The JR 9ch (i think 9303 or 9x) or Futaba 9chp. And try swop some of the servos out for better servos....if the shop will do it.

Hi...again

I should of mentioned, the sim idea is a good one.

I would say a Trex is not a good heli to start....I will probably get shot down for this, but it is a little monster to fly. It is NOT cheap after you have everything you need. The only advantage is you can fly it more because you can often zip out to a park etc...BUT this can also be a problem, the parks often have trees and you end up trying to avoid them and not concentrating on the heli.

Like they said, sim to start. First off as stated the sim will tell you if you have the aptitude to fly a heli and second if you find that you do want a real world heli the sim will pay for itself in the first couple of crashes.

I think that saying the TREX is not a good heli to start on may be a little harsh but it is true that it is no where near as stable as a larger heli like the Century Swift that I currently fly. I have a TREX and find that I prefer the much more solid feel of the Swift.

As far as electric vs nitro goes, that you have to decide for yourself. I have switched completely from glow to electric and will never go back. But to be fair, each has it advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on what you want, where you will be flying it and how much room you have available. For a 30 size glow figure on better part of $1000 buy the time you have everything. A large electric like the Swift will run considerably more. On the low end you have machines like the Blade CP which are in the $200-300 range but you get what you pay for.

You're going to need some help so check out what the local clubs if any fly and what they recommend. It is possible to go it alone, I did many years ago but it's a pain! Helicopters aren't cheap or easy to learn to fly but they are a blast once you get into them!

Hi Walleye

I just want to thank everyone out there for their GOOD ADVISE and great help. Without such help I would be LOST! ("not that I already am") Anyway it's great to see the replies, I check here often and take in all that i read.

What your not going to buy a small electric CCPM. What are you thinking. They are so easy to fly; and anyone can afford to repair it. I would by the T-REX 450 SE. My 7 year old can fly it with her eyes closed. Gee dolinator, look at me. I'm so smart I bought the Raptor G2. The first time I flew it I crashed into a box in my garage. Man I'll never forget that day; so much fun. Then after graduating to pro heliman and in my backyard, "I totaly wipped it out"! Sure miss those days. I'd sure be bummed out to think I could have bought a nice 30 size or larger helicopter after spending well over 500 bucks on that small electric helicopter. Well good luck happy flying!

I got into my Swift RTF for about $800! Just look for bargains and then buy all of your stuff from one person who price matches!

Team MikadoUSA 480XXTreme, 550SX, 600SX, 700XXTreme, 800XXTreme!!

It's an inside joke here, the person who posted the thread is a friend...He and I have been flying R/C aircraft for about a year now. I was being sarcastic..I just recently got into helicopters and have spent several dollars on parts. Well my friend here at least takes a different approac and asks good questions. I should have bought a .30 size helicopter from the sounds of it. I have the T-Rex 600 now still in the building phase. I'm getting better with the controls. The FMS flight sim has really help me. Especially flying the nose and not the tail. starcop out...

It should be required that if want to fly a heli on your own, you have to pass a proficiency test on a flight simulator before you buy your equipment. I learned on RealFlight G2, and now use RealFlight G3 to practice. If you have someone that will buddy cord with you on your heli, and spend the hours teaching you to fly, you won't need the simulator, but a good teacher on a buddy box will not let you crash. A simulator does not care if you crash, and you learn more from crashing, because it helps teach you what not to do. I crashed so many times on the simulator, I had to download a refill.
Once you want to get a heli, get a 50 size heli, because it is more stable than the 30. Same cost in parts as a 30. And I would also recommend the Pantera 50, by Audacity Models. Very nice heli.

well for what its worth i just started flying last fall. i bought a trex se and all the stuff like batteries chargers and radio. and i have spent alot time on the sim befor i thought about flying heli's. well i think the trex is a awesome little thing, it is not as easy to fly my raptor 50. parts are alot cheaper for the trex though. but the initial investment is about the same believe it or not. i think the raptor will hold its value more though. i personally wouldnt trust a used lipo battery. you never know what someone did to it. although there are some people on here that seem to know what they're doing, especially more than me, i dont know alot about this stuff yet. if i had to tell someone how to start i would say spend months on the sim before even deciding if you want nitro or electric.
if you want to know what the trex flies like there is a mx400 or something like that on one of the expansion packs that basically is a carbon copy of the trex. then fo fly like the dolphin 60 or the raptor 50 on realflight and you can sorta se the difference between the big and small.
one thing about safety is the trex is hard to see far away so you tend to fly closer to your self. the big nitro's 50 and up you can see easily so you tend o fly further away. well for a beginner it probably isnt a real good idea to fly right next to yourself. i am guilty of it also. i recently sold my trex and bought a fury extreme and havent looked back yet. and the raptor 50 is a whole lot more stable to fly.

Yep i will agree t-rex is a monster to fly
well for me that is maybe my set up
but i no expert i do fly raptor 30 50 and 90
t-rex 450x done crash 4 time
maybe it just or setup not sure
wating on parts again